So they sat. They sat there talking and laughing and completely enjoying each other until last call. They ordered two drinks apiece, just because they could, and once those were gone, they continued to talk, laugh, and cry until the bartender gave them a harsh boot. It was time to leave. It might have been the booze, but wow, why her? Surprisingly, he walked her to the door and handed her a bar napkin. On it were his name and number, and a sweet little note: "You ring my bell...". In his other hand was another napkin and and ink pen. On his face was that smile, and against her pacts and promises, she acquiesced. He really expressed a genuine desire to see her, and soon. Tomorrow? Make it work, he begged.
For the first time in years Gert let a man kiss her before they parted ways, and when they kissed she meant it. She could have swore he did too. She thought about him intensely all the way to her little house, and as she stepped from the curb to cross the street that led to her stoop, his kiss was the only thing on her mind. As she was struck by a steamroller being moved to another location at 2:30 in the morning, as she lay on the ground, gripping a bloody napkin that had been her last chance, Gertrude Franz, as she was dying, looked up at the night sky and said, "I won't be alone anymore..."
She still firmly gripped Mike's number, that bloodstained number, as they closed her eyes and covered her body for the last time.